1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a recording medium with a program recorded therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
In digital cameras, mobile phones having an imaging function, etc., the limit of a viewing angle is dependent on the hardware specification of the device body, such as the focal distance of the lens, the size of the image sensor, and the like.
Therefore, a technique is known that, when acquiring a wide-angle image that exceeds a hardware specification, such as when performing panoramic imaging, consecutively captures images while moving the imaging apparatus in a certain direction, and generates a wide-angle image by combining the acquired plurality of images (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2002-027312).
However, there is a problem in the above-described conventional technique. Although it is effective when a viewing angle is widen in one direction, a direction in which images should be captured during consecutive image capturing is difficult to know when a wide-angle image that spreads in two directions is to be generated. In addition, because all images acquired through consecutive image capturing are required to be recorded regardless of suitability for panoramic image composition, a large memory capacity is required.